AN INSPIRING VIEW

From renovating, to buying, to building

An inspiring block with a water view

Rewind to 2013; before our kids were too entrenched in school to feel like we couldn’t move them, I was vaguely dreaming of being closer to the water because my coastal roots were beckoning after years in flat, landlocked Shepparton. Then a gorgeous property came up on the river and the need for water was temporarily sated. It was in our 5-year plan to renovate the late 60's house for when the kids were in high school as we were happy living near their primary school, and we hadn’t quite outgrown our current home. We always knew a renovation project was going to be difficult and included both flood and bush fire risk challenges.

However, time passed quickly and it seemed like the only progress made over the next 5 years was in our imaginations and on some creative drawings while the kids were starting to enter secondary school. We felt like we were stuck in mud. So when we received an offer in 2018 on our river renovator we started to imagine how much simpler life could be if we just bought a house that was ready to move into. It seemed like it could save a lot of time and money, so we made the decision to sell and let go of one dream to hopefully replace it with a new one.

Unfortunately, that plan didn’t work out the way we intended. While we found a lovely house also near the river with a bush view and tailor made for 3 teenage children, the seller had second thoughts and took the property off the market after allowing house inspections and us making three offers. We were sad and more than a little shocked. While there were plenty of nice houses on the market, most either lacked the extra bedroom or didn’t have a study for our work-from-home office needs. On top of that, when we owner-built back in 2005 (yes, even before energy rating requirements), we put a lot of effort into building an efficient solar passive house and didn’t want to end up in a less comfortable house than the one we were looking to move on from.

So it was back to the drawing board. I think Scott held onto his optimism better than I did and we agreed that we would find something that we could make do with. We weren’t really considering building, but then Scott mentioned that he had seen a block on the one of the lakes in Kialla, which, while being further from town than we had originally wanted, it still met the criteria of being on the bike path and close to nature.

When I saw it I think it was sold. Just like our river renovator, there was an immediate 'wow' factor of open space, size and tranquility. But it also offered a water view on two sides!

Something that I hadn’t even dared to hope for! Not just any two sides either, but the north and east which would give us plenty of scope for a layout that could be oriented to maximise solar aspect. I think I always knew that finding an existing house that ticked all the boxes was unlikely, so we made the decision and started down the path to build a new home.